I was interviewed this last week for Todd Lucier’s Internet Marketing for Tourism - Audio Podcasts: How audio travel stories influence travelers.
We talked about:
There is no single answer to the question of where are the best places to travel on vacation. The first question to ask is not what place to go but instead what kind of traveler are you?
What Kind of Traveler Are You?
There are many different traveling styles or different goals for travel.
What is Your Travel Style / Budget?
Some people would rather stay home than stay any place that did not have 5 stars. Others could not imagine staying in any place more fancy than a youth hostel. Some who would love to stay at the fancy resort can’t afford to.
Before you travel you need to figure out your travel budget and style. What kind of style you like will help determine where you can afford to travel and for how long. My wife and I planned a trip to Hawaii before our first child was born. After looking at our budget we had to decide that a road trip to San Diego would be a better option.
One if by Land, Two if By Sea… Three if By Air?
Do you like road trips? If so how about an domestic itinerary. If you like the outdoors or history you could visit national parks. If you like sports consider a tour of major or minor league ballparks. If you like big city lights would a trip to New York, Chicago or Las Vegas be within your range?
Do you like cruises? Consider only packing and unpacking once and letting your hotel (ship) travel from port to port. From the East coast of the United States Bermuda and the Caribbean are both easily accessible. From the west coast Mexico or Alaska offer very different vacations.
If you love to fly and can afford it then Europe, Africa, Asia and South America beckon.
Europe offers familiarity for American visitors but with loads of history. Europe offers destinations from the familiar London and Paris to less familiar destinations like Croatia, Slovenia and Estonia. You have to be willing to deal with another language or driving on the other side of the road.
Africa offers unforgettable wildlife experiences or the wonders of ancient Egypt. It also offers ancient churches dug into the rocks of Ethiopia or far off destinations like Timbuktu. It will require many travels to get further outside their comfort zone.
Asia offers ancient cultures and new economic powerhouses. Your trip might be to overwhelming places like New Delhi which will challenge even veteran travelers or safer more familiar destinations like Singapore.
South America offers better exchange rates than europe but less political stability. It offers European style cities like Buenos Aires or ancient Incan cities like Machu Picchu.
One thing I have learned from hosting the Amateur Traveler for over three years is that there are many more places to travel than I had originally considered. It had never occurred to me to:
The more I learn about travel the more places I want to go. What is the best place to travel to? For me it is always the next place.
I had the opportunity to be interviewed by the Travel in 10 podcast and again talked about Istanbul. You might have gotten the impression that the city of Istanbul has left an impression on me and you would be correct.
I expected a middle eastern city but found a much more European city with an incredible history (and wonderful food).
Check out:
My video episodes on Istanbul:
I was minding my own business on Friday when I got an impromptu invitation to go back on the Home Based Travel agent podcast.
Home Based Travel Agent podcast - Podcast Number One-hundred-twenty-six
The Amateur Traveler Show producer, Chris Christensen joins the show. Lorene is traveling to Barcelona Spain in a couple of weeks and Chris shares his insights about Barcelona. Chris is also going on a cruise next week. The cruise that Chris is taking is a theme cruise for geeks and it is all about Shakespeare. Tune in and listen to one of the best travel podcast producers on the internet.
Copyright 2009 by Chris Christensen
